The rain pouring down from the sky is extremely fierce and rough.
The moon had long been hidden by dark clouds, and the rain felt unbearably heavy.
I ran madly down the dark forest path, devoid of any light.
No matter how I focused my energy, my feet felt heavy.
I ran for a while, thinking.
How long have I been running?
How much time has passed?
How much, how muchâŠ.
âHow long have I held onâŠ?â
My leg, cut and torn by a blade, screams in pain.
It yells at me to stop, to give up, but I didnât.
No, I couldnât.
Something warm was flowing down my hand.
Is it rain?
I foolishly hoped it was, but it wasnât.
It was too warm to be the cold rain.
I clenched my teeth at the sensation. I couldnât stop.
[Pull yourself together!]
I shouted, but there was no response from behind.
Because of this, I focused even more energy into my feet.
Time was running out. I could feel more blood on my hands than before.
[Shit⊠Pull yourself together!]
I shouted in frustration, but the result was the same.
So I put more strength into the hand that was carrying the person.
As if determined not to let go.
Why am I suffering so much for this foolish person? This thought kept circling in my mind.
Why didnât I leave this wretched woman behind?
She was clearly going to be a burden, so why did I carry her and run?
Why do I have to keep running, risking my life, without abandoning her?
I had no idea.
I just kept running.
The blood vessels in my eyes were all burst.
The pain in my lower abdomen signaled that my dantian was completely drained.
My heart was pounding wildly.
At that moment, I felt something draining from my body.
It was because I had used up my energy and even touched my innate qi. The sensation of my energy being drained made my lips tremble.
[...This is fucking ridiculous.]
The breathing behind me grew fainter.
My heartbeat grew louder, but the heartbeat I felt from behind grew slower.
The sound of pursuit had disappeared, but I couldnât stop running.
I wasnât sure if I had truly escaped from that monster.
Where am I? Where am I now?
The sensation in my legs had long since disappeared.
In the distance, I saw a cave between the forest paths.
There was no time to hesitate, so I immediately ran into the cave, breaking through the rain.
It was a place where I couldnât see the surroundings clearly.
But I had no other choice.
When I went deep enough, the sound of the rain grew distant, and only silence remained in the cave.
I led my exhausted body to a relatively wide area in the cave.
As soon as I released the energy surrounding my body, I collapsed.
Every bone in my body screamed in pain, but I first laid the person I was carrying flat on the ground.
Blood was flowing from the long sword wound on her upper body.
She was barely breathing, and even that was faint.
With my trembling hands, I placed them on the injured person and infused my energy.
Because my dantian was empty, the energy was close to innate, but I had no time to hesitate.
[Shit⊠Why isnât the bleeding stoppingâŠ?]
As I infused the energy, the wound continued to bleed.
Suddenly, my body swayed.
It was because I had used too much energy in a short time.
[What the hellâŠ]
Someone weakly grabbed my hand.
[Stop⊠pleaseâŠ]
It was a voice with almost no life.
I spoke with frustration at this wretched situation.
[Stop? What do you mean stop! Just shut up and stay still!]
[...If we keep this up... youâll die... Iâm... fine...]
[Donât be ridiculous. Who asked you to do something you werenât asked to do! Because of your reckless actions, Iâm doing this, so Iâll do as I please.]
So please, just shut up and try to survive.
I couldnât say the last part because she had already lost consciousness again.
I had to survive.
I couldnât die in a place like this.
I had to survive.
I couldnât let her die in a place like this.
[What the hell do I do⊠ShitâŠ]
If I infused more energy, I would lose consciousness.
Then she would die.
I gritted my teeth and tried to hold on, but my heart, squeezed tight, wouldnât wait.
[Please⊠pleaseâŠ!]
It was desperate, almost pleading.
This wretched world had never offered me a helping hand.
Even now, pushed to the edge of a cliff, it was the same.
[Just once⊠Just once, can you help me?]
If youâve been cruel until now, can you help me just once?
No matter how unjust, how could you never help me even once?
The sky wouldnât answer my pleas.
They were never on my side.
How long had I been like this? How much of my life was left?
Just as I was growing weary.
[Truly despicable.]
The energy I was infusing was cut off.
Not by my will, but by someone elseâs.
My whole body stiffened at the short words from behind.
When did�
There was only one entrance to the cave.
No matter how much energy I was pouring in, how could I not have sensed anyoneâs presence?
[...This wasnât much fun. It was a boring game of hide and seek.]
I felt as if I couldnât breathe.
Just by standing there, the monster made every muscle in my body scream and the air around me disappear.
I turned my trembling head to look behind me.
Despair (ç”¶æ).
What I saw was despair.
[Thereâs nothing as despicable as a human chasing after futile hope.]
[What the hell are you, kid?]
[Your mouth is dirtier than I expected.]
He was a monster. There was no other way to describe him.
He was laughing at us.
More accurately, he was laughing at me.
I couldnât see his face or hear his voice, but I somehow knew he was laughing.
[This is quite amusing. Even in this state, you can still show your fangs to me.]
The dark cave suddenly became bright.
No, it wasnât getting brighter.
A greater darkness had consumed everything, leaving no trace of darkness around.
[...Shit.]
I spat out a curse without realizing it.
I tried to ignore the fear, but it was clearly seeping into my body.
This was not something a human could do.
The monster looked at my trembling body and spoke.
[Do you know who I am?]
In the distorted space of the cave, a black wind from the fluttering black robe swallowed the little hope I had left.
It even knocked down the little courage I had mustered.
One step.
Just one step the monster took towards me made me realize.
He was a being who could take everything from me with a single gesture if he so desired.
Yet he was showing mercy out of mere interest.
[I am.]
The slow, calm voice made me feel as if my heart had stopped.
The spirit I had barely maintained began to waver.